Herbert A. Simon studied cognition through explicit models of information processing. His work with William G. Chase compared how chess players of different skill recalled positions and copied arrangements. Expert performance depended strongly on meaningful configurations, supporting an account in terms of learned patterns organized by chunking rather than an unrestricted increase in general short-term storage.[ref]
Perception in chess by William G. Chase and Herbert A. Simon. 1973, experiments comparing recall, copying and structured/random positions
A familiar arrangement can be encoded as one organized pattern where a novice sees many separate pieces. Destroying those relationships by random placement reduces the usefulness of such knowledge. The contrast makes expertise a testable property of representations and experience.
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Portrait of Herbert A. Simon
. Rochester Institute of Technology, News and Events, 19 March 1981. Wikimedia Commons identifies the sitter and marks the image public domain in the United States. Source.
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